With a death toll of more than 22.000, the US has the highest rate of corona-related deaths worldwide.

On BILD Live, US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo (56), talked about this global crisis and about how the world must cooperate in order to overcome it.

Pompeo on …

… the relationship between the US and Germany during the crisis: „We are working closely together with our German friends and partners. This is a global pandemic. In times like these, great partners like Germany and Chancellor Merkel are working alongside the United States in order to achieve good results – in the end, not only for the people in Germany and in the US, but for the people all across the world.“

… the Berlin local government’s false accusation that the US confiscated a delivery of face masks intended for Berlin: „We certainly want our good partners to talk about our partnership in a way that reflects the fundamental and important meaning of the relationship between our countries. Not only in this instance did we see fake news and disinformation in the media. Some of this was surely unintended. People, maybe also among German government representatives, may simply not have been properly informed. But some disinformation was intentional. That’s dangerous – as is any disinformation, be it by Iran or wherever.“

Following his enjoyable days in isolation with his 20-member harem, duty unfortunately calls for the king of Thailand.

… the lack of information from China: „We regret that this virus, this epidemic, which began in Wuhan in China, was not identified fast enough. The Chinese government, the Chinese Communist Party, did not provide this information in time. That’s very regrettable.“

… potential tariff reductions: „With respect to tariffs, President Trump was very clear: we want low tariffs, we don’t want any other trade barriers, we want free and solid trade. What we are asking for, however, is that there is a fair trade that is based on reciprocity. (…) Fewer trade barriers enable the growth of the global economy.“

… China’s responsibility for the corona crisis: „What is required is more than a global debate. It is important to understand how this began and where it began. (…) We saw the reports about the Chinese wildlife markets that describe exactly where the virus originated from. It is important that the entire world understands that. (…) We had to shut down the global economy. That’s tragic and will cost a lot. We must make sure that no country will cause anything like this again and that we all work together for this.“

… the question of whether China should be liable for the damage done by corona worldwide: „There will be a time when the people responsible will be held accountable. I am very confident that this will happen. At the moment, it’s absolutely necessary to focus on the current task in order to systematically restart the American, and then also the global, economy. There will be a time for assigning blame.“